Posted: 3/18/2006 1:29:53 PM EDT
| I have a problem with strays and the city told me they won't come out and trap them, I have to and they'll come pick them up. I got a live animal trap but I don't know what to use as bait, I have tuna fish in there now. What would be some good bait? I have no option of shooting them so please don't tell me that's what I need to do, and no poisenous baits either. I have thought of catnip and the more powerful valarian root. |
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Murdoc: City cats can be a challenge sometimes. Pet grade tuna (the shitty stuff with eyes & crap) works better than the high grade stuff. Many times you need to use what they have grown used to eating - trash can scraps. A half eaten KFC chicken part will get them in my neighborhood everytime. There is a KFC 3 blocks away, and they eat there all the time. Canned cat food does not work well at all for me. The trimmings from a pork roast bagged me a 24 pound bastard that I thought might be a raccoon he was so big - mean as hell too. Good hunting, and be careful. Let the city deal with the ones in the trap. Lem |
thank you sir |
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Another kicker is that those ferrels can be crafty bastards. I saw one on animal K-911 (or whatever the hell on An-Plan) bat the can of tuna with its paw from the outside, knowing it was a trap. so keep it centered towards the back of the trap, and if that fails, maybe hot glue on the bottom. I had this fucking peeping tomcat. No shit. It would leap 6' (probably with a ledge as assistance) to sit on a window A/C unit and spy on us. The thing was that it would make an unnerving thud at 4am, or if it had camped out my gf would scream as the gleaming eyes met her field of vision from outside. I bought four 4-packs of those mouse glue traps and set them on top of theAC unit one day. 24 hours later I heard BOOM! BANG-A-LANG! (never heard a bang-a-lang before). I noted with great satisfaction only 12 traps on the AC and 2 on the ground so that fucker was off somewhere dealing with two of them. I reset the two and went inside. Two days later (daytime now) I hear the apocalypse out there. I run out and see 3 missing and one of them has a crow feather stuck to it. The bird was nowhere to be seen and the cat never returned. |
 
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I don't recommend a deadfall trap, the cats aren't really heavy enough. Have you considered electronic traps?   For your trap, get some canned catfood if the tuna doesn't work. You can try and disguise it a little too. Cover it with some branches and just leave the opening. |
| cat food is cheaper than tuna. if you eat fish or chicken, put the leftovers in...I caught skunks several times and sprayed the trap down with vinegar to clean it off/ I set the trap and went in to get bait and forgot about it until the next day...caught a cat without bait. |
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Why isn't shooting them an option? A .22 lr cartridge is very cheap and effective. They work great for cats. Then a couple plastic grocery bags to wrap it up in...there you are! A guy that used to live by me would shoot cats in the gut intentionally. Why you ask(I asked why)? He said it was so they would run home and die on their owners porch, and he would be the one to deal with the mess. Sick bastage. |
not legal to shoot a firearm inside the city limits and it's not legal for me to cull them. |